Final Reflection

Media 150 was not what I expected it to be. Although, very informative about media technologies and techniques, it was just way too much information crammed into a short semester. In addition, I was expecting to get a better tutorial of photoshop and html. Even though, it was not as extensive as I had initially expected, I was still able to walk away with basic skills to help me execute ideas on photoshop. I really enjoyed the stamp art, still image, and film exercises. A lot of what we went over in the beginning, seemed like a repeat of Media 180. I would suggest that a review be done, but as drawn out. The assigned readings helped to reinforce the lectures, and were easy to understand. Overall I have learned valuable information to develop my skills in design. After taking this course it has motivated me to want to learn more about graphic design, and develop my design skills more. My lab professor was great. I feel as though I learned more during the lab sessions, rather than in the lectures, but only because it was much smaller and hands on. I would recommend this course to someone who is really interested in getting into career in media or film.

Website Crtitique

The first website that I have chosen to critique is named “Haven Works,” or www.HavenWorks.com. Haven Works is a website for references and sources of news. It maybe that it holds valuable information for researchers, but accessing this data is not so easy. This page is bombarded with different graphics that do not mesh with each other well. My eyes tend to wander when looking at the page. Overall all the graphics is a distracting factor, when looking for information. When first clicking on the link for the page i was unsure of what it was for. When the page loaded the message was even more so blurred. At first glance, the page is not pleasing to the eyes at all, but then you see bits of political headlines. Furthermore, the color schemes on the page are totally off, besides the democratic and republican themes that try to distinct themselves amongst the other links.

Haven Work’s functionality is not executed as well as it could be, and there is way too much information on the home page. Instead, there should be broader topic links that lead to sub page with narrower topics. The colors used should be cut down to a maximum of four colors and less distracting to the viewer. Intuitively a viewer could click on topic links, but functionally one would not know where to start when doing research on this page. A clutter of different topics mixed with different graphical images and pictures, leaves me unhappy from the beginning and very confused after trying to figure out what kind of image or message the page is trying to convey. As a political reference site, I would assume this site is a joke and is not a trustworthy reference . I would not trust this site for factual information, just because of its distracting effect and and the bright and crazy color scheme.

The second website that I have chosen to critique is called “Mystic Flash,” or www.MysticFlash.com. Mystic flash, is an website for a tattoo parlor in Idaho. When first loading the link, it takes you to an introduction page with some kind of tattoo art in the middle of some text that looks like it was created on the word art function of Microsoft Word. The introduction, although not as creative as it could be, gives a little bit of optimism that the rest of the site will be a little better, until you click to enter and are lead to the homepage.

The homepage has a background image that has horrible resolution, and is hard to make out what the complete image actually is. The photo centered on the page, I would assume are the tattoo artists promoting the business. The links on the side have a low quality flash feature that just makes the page look less artistic as it should be, since it is promoting artistry especially permanent body art. You would think these people would have a better idea of how to design a well functioning yet creative site. Furthermore, there are links that lead to several different pages that tell about the business, but no link that leads to a portfolio of the artists work. This would make viewers or potential customers less inclined to choose Mystic Flash for their body piercing and tattoo needs.

The color scheme of the site is off, especially the color of the font on certain pages. It is hard to decipher what some of the text says over the background. This is due to the fact that the text does not contrast with the background enough, rather it blends in with it and making it illegible. This is shown on the contact page, which is the most important page for the business to get in contact with potential customers. The contact page has the names of two artists in a crazy graphical text positioned in a confusing way. At the bottom in smaller unnoticeable text are the number and email address of the business. The background image has bad resolution once again, as well as being inconsistent with the rest of the background images of this site. The contact information is hard to read against the background and functionally not suitable. This is distracting and personally, would make me not even want to contact Mystic Flash.

Design I Like

Design is everywhere. When an artist, engineer, designer or any individual creates something, they are doing so with a purpose. Therefore, it is their responsibility to execute a design with good functionality to do so.I have chosen to write about a photograph of the Iniskin Bay in Alaska. The composition of the photo creates a a functional design with different elements that make up the landscape. The deep depth of field in this photo, creates a sense of mystery and yearning to know what the rest of this landscape looks like further down the line. The lighting and angle used to shoot this photo creates a surreal feel to the image. Unlike the NYC environment, the photo personally makes me appreciate the thought that somewhere so beautiful actually coexists within the same country. The water has a smooth surface resembling mercury and has a perfect reflection of the sky in it. I believe that the artist was trying to make the viewer feel a bit overwhelmed and taken back by the amazing image created. He captured so much beauty in the shot, that it can only make a viewer think of what it would be like to actually be there.

Logos

Hillary Clinton

Mike Bloomberg

What I See

John Schlesinger’s 1969 Midnight Cowboy, is a movie about a young Texan named Joe Buck, and his experiences moving to New York City. Joe Buck is a cowboy, who in the beginning seems to be intact with his rugged cowboy exterior, until he is exposed to new situations. In the beginning of the film, Joe quits his job as is a dishwasher in a Texan diner, in exchange for a new life in the “promising” city of New York. He moves to the city with intentions of being a male prostitute, or as he puts it a “hustler.” Throughout his journey his character develops from a vulnerable newcomer, to a more aware citizen of the city. The director uses several techniques in order to convey these concepts, as well as to project different emotions on screen.

The scene that I have analyzed takes place when the main character has almost had enough of the new city, that he has learned brutal truths about. It is the turning point in the film, where you start to see Joe try to hide his vulnerability and develop assertion. At this point Joe is tired of trying to decipher who is trustworthy in the city, and is desperate for anyone to reach out a helping hand. In the establishing shot, you see Joe standing in front of a coffee shop window, and Rizzo sitting at the counter inside. There is then a close-up on Rizzo’s face, which shows his facial expression of a friendly smile. Then there is a cut to Joe’s face his expression is at first happy to see a familiar face, but soon changes to anger when he remembers that this familiar face is just another person out to get him. A quick cut and a shot back to Rizzo, shows his new facial expression of guilt and fear. This alone reveals that he knows he has done something wrong, without having to speak with Joe. Tight close ups are used in these shots, as to show the dramatic emotions of each character. The composition of the shots have little depth of feel, focusing more on the characters at hand and less on the busy background of the diner they are in. There are low angle and high angle shots between the characters to show tension, until after the scene the shots of each character are sometimes at eye length.

The film techniques used to create the ideas conveyed on screen, show gradual change through out the movie. High angle and low angle shots show superiority as well as, inferiority between characters before an understanding between the two has been come to. There are also extreme close ups to show dramatic emphasis and short depths of field to show focus on one subject. Deeper depth of field is created with a zoom out. These combined are used to show the insignificance of Joe in the city by showing how small and minute he is among all bustle in the city. I feel that these techniques were utilized in a skilled way and successfully portrayed an interesting story.

Farmer

Good Signage v. Bad Signage

Bad Sign- Art Gallery & Custom Framing store
Good Sign- Papyrus Stationery store
Good Sign- Hot & Tasty Bakery Cafe
Bad Sign- Inca's Peruvian Restaurant
Bad Sign- NU-PLACE REALTY
Good sign- Kid City Children's Dept. Store

Convergence

Convergence between different mediums of media, has become more prevalent to this day. It has become an everyday use to most people who are technologically up to date and even those who slightly use media. Whether you watch a youtube video or a television show on Hulu convergence is present. Converting various forms of media to a digital medium allows people to view and use various works through different outlets. Personally, I have no time to watch prime time television. Usually when I actually do find time to watch the shows that I love, they are no longer showing on the network, so I turn to the internet. Various sites such as Hulu, stream television shows through their site to allow for viewing. Different applications on smart phones allow people to utilize these sites through their phones, as well. Another way convergence plays a role in my life is through music. I have many CDs but I no longer use an out of date CD walkman to listen to them. Instead, by converting the music files on a CD to .mp3 files I am able to listen to my CDs on my iPod. Because convergence has become so readily used by people, they do not realize the bridge built between the different mediums, and convergence in my view has become a norm to many people.I believe in the future convergence between different technologies will have grown to different lengths we cannot imagine today. Because of this, media will be more easily accessed all over the world.

Post-modern v. Modernist